American and European Art

Provenance: Property of James Tissot By descent to his niece, Mlle Jeanne Tissot, until her death in 1964 Her estate sale, Chateau de Buillon, Chenecey-Buillon, November 1964 Acquired from the above by the present owner The anglophile French artist James Tissot made compositional studies for his oil paintings both in pencil and in oils. This small picture is an oil study for the painting L'Enlèvement [The Abduction], now in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, France. L'Enlèvement was painted around 1865 and was the last and most important work in a series of paintings by Tissot that drew inspiration from 'troubadour' tales of romantic encounters and duels in the sixteenth and seventeenth-century. These enjoyed great popularity in novels, plays, operas and fine art during the nineteenth century. Tissot painted secret assignations of young lovers, duels and several scenes of abduction, all with figures in historical dress and settings. Here a carriage has been stopped near a riverside mill and the two young female occupants are being abducted to a waiting boat on the left, with fights raging between armed men on horses and on foot. In the oil study, Tissot blocks out key areas of colour and the rhythm of movement. Colour balance and harmony in a painting was important to Tissot and he was able to plan this through small oil studies like this one, based on ideas sketched in pencil. He also used detailed studies of individual figures or groups for poses and costumes. The final painting has an additional tree on the left and more forest on the right, giving a broader sweep to the composition. It was bought from Tissot through the Paris dealer Goupil in July 1871 by the New York dealer and collector Samuel Avery, and subsequently owned by collectors in England. The oil study, meanwhile, remained in Tissot's possession, with many similar preparatory works, until his death in 1902, when it was inherited by his niece with the rest of the artist's estate, Tissot having remained a bachelor with no children. We would like to thank Mrs. Krystyna Matyjaskiewicz for providing this catalog entry.